The term Edge Compute is a distributed system paradigm that takes some storage and computational resources close to the point where the raw data originated, in place of transferring it to the centralized data centers.
Historically, data is generated at the endpoints and is transferred over wide connection arrangements to the main application storage systems, where the data gets worked upon and then a response is sent back to the endpoint using the same wide spectrum.
In today’s world, when devices are growing exponentially, a lot of data is generated, producing the need for a different approach that can decentralize the processes and work the data as close to the origination point as possible. Additionally, applications depend rely on processing and responses that are getting increasingly time-sensitive. However, shifting from a conventional centralized computer paradigm can make decentralization problematic since it necessitates intense degrees of oversight and management. Because it effectively addresses new network issues related to transferring the massive amounts of data that today's businesses generate and consume, edge compute technology has gained importance. The way the internet is implemented, it works with the limitations of availability of bandwidth, latency, and congestion control protocols. Edge computing works to solve these limitations by providing solutions that are speedy, more efficient, reliable, and scalable.
Edge computing is future-proof. Today, we are seeing the world adapting to the 5G where a person using multiple devices has become a norm. These devices, all act as endpoints and generate a lot of data. And, with the advancement in IT, it is just a matter of a decade, before 6G gets introduced, which will again multiply the devices, by the factor of tens. So, this calls for the need for the architecture which can handle all this continually generating plethora of data and process it close to these endpoints locally.
The Internet of Things (IoT) benefits from having computational resources proximate to the placement of a data source. IoT device data can be evaluated at the edge instead of travelling back to a central facility before that analysis can be conducted in order to react quicker or prevent hazards.